Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
Milwaukee remains on top in the West Division with 76 points along with four ather Division teams  ruling the Conference. The Admirals have a one-point edge over Houston, whom they defeated on Tuesday 5-4. In his AHL debut, Anders Lindback earned the win stopping 31 shots. Lindback is playing his first season in North America and has played 21 games in the NHL with Nashville. Just 24 seconds into the game, Houston took a penalty and allowed Andreas Thuresson at 1:19 to score his seventh goal of the season, second on the power play. Chris Mueller's unassisted goal at 10:20 was his 17th of the season. The remaining scoring, all in the third period, started with Brett Palin at 4:19 then two by Matt Halischuk at 7:50 on the power play and again at 9:43.

Grant Lewis had a three point night and five different Admirals scored Wednesday to defeat the Oklahoma City Barons 6-1. Anders Lindback stopped 32 shots in his second straight win.  Gabriel Bourque at 5:01 of the first got the scoring started for the Ad's. Grant Lewis at 19:02 and Ryan Flynn at 19:55 rounded out the first peeriod scoring. In the second period, Ryan Thang at 9:16 and Lewis at  13:29 scored his second goal of the night. Andreas Thuresson's goal at 16:18 in the second was the final score.

Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
The Admirals still remain on top of the West Division and the Western Conference with 81 points, two ahead of the closest team. Milwaukee started the week by defeating the Toronto Marlies for the second time this season with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday. Netminder Mark Dekanich was back for his first start in nine days and stopped 31 shots in the win. Gabriel Bourque netted his 11th goal of the season, second power play goal, in the first period, putting the Ad's on the board. Mike Bartlett netted his sixth goal in the second period, while Grant Lewis scored a power-play goal at 15:12 of the third period.

Milwaukee fell in overtime to the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-4 at Hamilton. The Admirals did not get on the board until 4:31 of the second period with a goal from Teemu Laakso. Scott Ford and Andreas Thuresson with his ninth goal of the season, third on the power play, also scored in the second period, keeping the Ad's alive. Bourque tied the game up half way through the third period, sending the game to overtime, where a former Admiral would get the winning goal for Hamilton.

The Admirals went on to post a 3-1 win over the Chicago Wolves Friday night. Mark Dekanich stopped 42 shots earning his 22nd win for the season.  Connor Shields scored at 3:01 of the first period, his first as an Admiral. Just 27 seconds into the second period on the power play, Ryan Thang gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Patrick Coulombe also scored his first goal as an Admiral at 3:42 of the third period.

Saturday was the showdown between the North and West Division leaders, with the Manitoba Moose coming to Milwaukee in their final meeting this year, defeating the Admirals 4-2. Dekanich made 26 saves in the loss. Grant Lewis at 9:47 of the first period with a power play goal put Milwaukee on the board. Ryan Flynn in the third at 2:59 scored the other Admiral goal.
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Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL)
Overtime was needed twice in deciding the final score in three of the Bulldogs’ games in the last week. Wednesday night Nigel Dawes extended his goal-scoring streak to a league leading 8 games when he scored a natural hat trick in a 5-4 overtime victory against the Milwaukee Admirals. His first two goals came in the opening stanza with an unassisted goal at 16:33 and his second at 18:11. He completed the trick just over a minute into the middle frame to get his 33rd goal of the season. The Admirals scored the next three goals to end the second. Dany Masse scored for the Bulldogs in the third as well but the Admirals answered to send the game into overtime. Captain Alex Henry got his first of the season as the overtime winner.

Saturday night the Bulldogs were shut out by the Toronto Marlies 2-0. Drew MacIntyre made 21 saves as the second goal was an empty net goal. The Bulldogs went 0-for-5 on the power play in the loss. The teams faced off again Sunday this time with Hamilton coming out on top 3-2 in overtime. Olivier Fortier got his team on the board halfway through the first period and Aaron Palushaj made it a 2-0 lead 5 minutes into the second period. The Marlies answered with two goals to tie it up and send the game into overtime. Brendon Nash got the game winner at the 2:21 mark in overtime.

Hamilton is now 34-22-1-5 at the top of the North Division. They embark on a four game home stand playing host to the Rockford IceHogs, Lake Erie Monsters, Texas Stars and Rochester Americans in the next week. 

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Adirondack Phantoms (PHI)
Despite the fact that all previous games between the Albany Devils and Adirondack Phantoms had been decided by two goals or fewer, the Devils put in a little extra Saturday and gave the Phantoms a 5-2 loss.  The Phantoms were able to hold off the Devils as much as they could, holding them to two goals through two periods.  The Phantoms got into penalty trouble, giving the Devils a 4-on-3 and changing the momentum of the third period in favor of Albany.  Michael Leighton made 35 saves.

In Sunday’s rematch against Albany, the game looked like it was going to end in a similar manner.  Down 2-1 after two periods, the Phantoms successfully staged a three-goal third period comeback to win the game 4-3.  All four Adirondack goals were scored by Ben Holmstrom (2) and Denis Hamel (2).  It was Holmstrom’s first multi-goal game of his professional career.  The Devils game the Phantoms plenty of power play opportunities, and several Devils were handed 10-minute misconducts for various offenses.  The Phantoms went 3-for-9 on the power play. no comments

Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers were beaten up this weekend as they dropped both of their games by five or more goals. Saturday night the Sound Tigers were nearly tripled up when they fell 8-3 to the Portland Pirates. Eric Castonguay, David Ullstrom and Rhett Rakshani made it on to the score sheet and Jeremy Colliton got an assist on each of the goals. Bridgeport went 2-for-6 on the power play but allowed Portland to go 5-for-9 through 60 minutes of play. Mikko Koskinen made 19 saves on 27 shots before Joel Martin (three saves) relieved him for the final 10 minutes.

Sunday afternoon was another loss when the Sound Tigers were blanked 6-0 in a very penalized game against the Providence Bruins. Through the first 10 minutes of the opening frame, the Sound Tigers were outshot 5-1 and were outshot by a tally of 18-6 in the last period. Brett Gallant got two fighting majors and Tony Romano was responsible for four of the penalties his team took. It was not just the Sound Tigers taking penalties as four different Bruins were tossed; two for hitting, one for spearing and another for chirping the refs. That resulted in three power play chances but Bridgeport went 0-for-9 on the man advantage.

The Sound Tigers fell to 21-34-3-4 and are settled at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Bridgeport returns to the ice Wednesday when they travel to New York to take on the Albany Devils. This weekend they will rematch the Providence Bruins Friday night as well as Sunday afternoon with a game at the Manchester Monarchs sandwiched in Saturday night.

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Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
The Admirals wrapped up their three game homestand and, even with a loss, stay atop the West Division and Conference standings with 83 points.

On Friday, the Rockford IceHogs took the win from first place Admirals with a 2-0 shootout score. The loss is the first time since November that the Admirals have dropped back-to-back games in regulation and their fourth consecutive home defeat. Goalie Mark Dekanich recorded 32 saves in a game that did not have a goal scored until the third period.

With four consecutive losses at home, Milwaukee finally came through and beat the Peoria Rivermen 2-1 Sunday, after 104 minutes and 36 seconds of being blanked by the opponent. The win came off two quick goals just 11 seconds apart from Admirals center Mark Van Guilder and winger Mike Bartlett, helping break their longest home losing streak since March of 2000. Dekanich turned away 31 shots to pick up his 22nd win of the season.

Milwaukee will hit the road for games with Houston on Tuesday, San Antonio on Wednesday and Friday, Lake Erie on Sunday.

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Adirondack Phantoms (PHI)
As is the norm with Adirondack-Albany games, the tilt against the two teams on Friday was heavily penalized, with a total of 130 penalty minutes combined. Four separate players had 10-minute game misconducts for abuse of officials, unsportsmanlike conduct, and secondary altercation. Eric Wellwood scored the lone Adirondack goal, a shorthanded effort in the 2-1 loss.

The Phantoms ran into penalty problems again Saturday against Hershey, handing the Bears nine power play opportunities, including one in overtime, upon which the Bears capitalized to win 3-2. Adirondack coach Joe Paterson said after the game, “It’s tough when you’re penalty killing all night long. It’s taxing on some key guys.” Mike Testwuide and Tom Sestito scored the goals for Adirondack.

The Phantoms kept their penalties to a minimum Sunday, and it paid off. The Phantoms earned a 3-0 shutout against the Springfield Falcons, with Michael Leighton stopping all 28 shots. Mike Testwuide scored two and Denis Hamel wrapped up the score sheet with an empty net tally.

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Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL)
The Hamilton Bulldogs fell from their top spot in the North Division as a result of only one win in four games this past week. Wednesday night they were edged 2-1 by the Rockford IceHogs in a shootout. Aaron Palushaj scored the only regulation goal for the Bulldogs to tie it early in the middle frame and no one else would score until the shootout despite the team outshooting the IceHogs 45 to 35. Palushaj and Dany Masse scored in the shootout but Drew MacIntyre (33 saves) stopped only two of the opposing shooters and took the loss. Friday the team was doubled up 4-2 by the Lake Erie Monsters. J.T. Wyman got the Bulldogs on the board on the shorthand at the end of the first period but they were still down 2-1. The Monsters got the next two goals but the Bulldogs kept battling and Kyle Klubertanz notched his ninth of the season with under a minute to go. Wyman assisted on the goal to make it a two point night.

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
The depleted Bridgeport Sound Tigers roster battled this past week grabbing 3 points of their potential 8. Tuesday night the Sound Tigers gave up a 4-1 they had after 2 periods and fell 5-4 to the Albany Devils. Brett Motherwell, Rhett Rakshani, Jesse Joensuu and Robin Figren each scored in the first 2 periods to get that lead. Joensuu and Rakshani also each had 2 assists. Chad Wiseman of the Devils scored all 4 goals in the final period that the Sound Tigers could not answer. Mikko Koskinen made 40 saves and took the loss. The Sound Tigers faced the Providence Bruins Friday night for the first time since their very physical tilt last Sunday and fell 4-3 in a shootout. The Bruins had a 2 goal lead early in the final period until Rakshani scored on the power play to cut the deficit in half. Just over a minute later Providence scored again but Bridgeport kept battling and tied it up with 2 goals from Jeremy Colliton. Overtime was scoreless and only Ty Wishart scored in the shoot out. Koskinen made 27 saves in 2 periods of play before he got injured and had to be replaced by Joel Martin who finished the remainder of the game making 16 saves.

The losing streak the Sound Tigers were on was stretched to 8 games in their 7-0 loss to the Manchester Monarchs. Bridgeport went 0-for5 on the power play in game lacking in offense. Martin made 24 saves in the loss and let up a penalty shot late in the second period. The offensive woes came to an end Sunday when the Sound Tigers faced the Bruins again and beat them 5-1. Providence had a lead after nearly 9 minutes but then Bridgeport took over. Brett Gallant got his first professional career goal to tie the game late in the period. Rakhshani scored just over a minute later to gain the lead. In the middle frame the Sound Tigers took advantage of all their power play opportunities to score 3 power play goals. Tony Romano, Mark Katic and Jeremy Colliton. The team was also excellent on the penalty kill going 8-for-8. Martin made 28 saves in the win.

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
Every match up this weekend needed only one goal to determine the winner. In Wednesday’s contest with the Portland Pirates, the Sound Tigers had 2 third period goals to win 2-1. Bridgeport never had double digits for shots as they were outshot 34 to 21. The Pirates took an early lead, scoring at the 3:32 of the opening frame. Neither team scored in the second period but 2 goals in the span of two minutes gave the Sound Tigers the go ahead. Brian Day, who also took the game’s only penalty in the first period, scored at 9:14 and David Ullstrom got the game winner at 10:37.

Friday night the Sound Tigers fell 3-2 to the Springfield Falcons. They were outshot again this time 29 to 16. The first period was scoreless but Jeremy Colliton struck just 36 seconds into the second period to get the lead for the Sound Tigers. Justin DiBenedetto took advantage of the power play midway through the period to make it 2-0. The Falcons came back in the final period with 2 power play goals and the game winning goal with just 5 minutes to go. Nathan Lawson made 26 saves and took the loss. The Sound Tigers edged the Binghamton Senators Saturday night by a final of 4-3. Robin Figren got the lone goal of the first period that the Senators answered late in the second. With just 31 second to go in the middle frame Rhett Rakhshani put his team in the lead again with a power play goal. The Senators continued to battle but Tyler McNeely scored 2 huge goals for the Sound Tigers for the win. The former Northeastern University player’s goal early in the period was the first of his professional career and his game winning goal gave him his first multi-point game of his professional career.

The Sound Tigers will play their final four games of the season this week. They face off against the Springfield Falcons, Connecticut Whale and Albany Devils to round out their season.

Portland Pirates (BUF)
Despite a solid playoff spot, the Pirates are not done giving it their all in their games. They shut out the Providence Bruins 3-0 on Tuesday night. Portland got on the board with 2 quick goals from Dennis McCauley and Nick Tuzzolino just over five minutes into the game. Tuzzolino’s goal was his first AHL career goal. The scored remained as such until the last minute of the game when T.J. Brennan hit the empty net to make it 3-0 for the win. In another midweek match up the Pirates played a tight game and fell 2-1 to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Paul Byron was the lone goal scorer when he notched his 21st of the season at 3:32 for an early lead. Neither team found the back of the net in the middle period but it was all Sound Tigers in the final period who scored 2 unanswered goals to steal the win.

There was only one power play the entire game that the Pirates could not take advantage of.

In a contest with the other top Atlantic Division team the Manchester Monarchs, the Pirates were defeated 5-2. Luke Adam gave the Pirates an early lead when he scored at 6:29 on the power play but Manchester answered with 4 straight goals that resulted in David Leggio (20 saves) being replaced by Jeff Jakaitis (15  saves). Derek Whitmore lit the lamp midway through the second period to bring the goal deficit to only two but they would not be able to make a comeback.

Portland was doubled up by the Connecticut Whale Sunday 4-2 after the Whale scored the first 4 goals. The Pirates got on the board at 12:46 when Colin Stuart broke the shutout. Mark Parrish took advantage of the powerplay to make it 4-2 but that is all they could do for a comeback. Portland was outshot 47 to 22 by the Whale with Leggio stopping 43 shots.

Even with the season winding down, Portland has five games to round out their season on the schedule before the race for the Calder Cup. They play the Worcester Sharks, Manchester Monarchs, Providence Bruins, Albany Devils and finally the Springfield Falcons to round out the season.

Connecticut Whale (NYR)
Only two points ahead of the Worcester Sharks, the Whale own the third playoff spot as of Sunday with the Sharks dropping games when the Whale did. Friday against the Providence Bruins they made a comeback but were edged by the Providence Bruins 3-2. The first period was scoreless but the Bruins jumped out in the middle frame with 2 goals. Brodie Dupont lit the lamp in the third period to cut the lead in half but the Bruins answered with a shorthanded goal less than two minutes later. Kris Newbury notched a goal with eleven minutes remaining in the period but the Whale would fail to score anymore.

The Whale were outdone by the Springfield Falcons 6-2 Saturday night. The Falcons took a lead after the first period and the middle stanza was scoreless for both teams. Kelsey Tessier and Jeremy Williams scored in the third period but so did five players from the Falcons. Williams’ goal was his 30th of the season. Cameron Talbot stopped 19 shots and suffered the loss. Sunday afternoon the Whale beat the Portland Pirates 4-2 for two important points. Williams opened the scoring at 3:31 and Dale Weise extended the lead just 22 seconds later. Derek Couture took advantage of the power play late in the second period as an insurance goal. Weise made it a multi goal game for himself when he hit the back of the net with his team on the penalty kill. Both teams combined for over 100 penalty minutes with a lot of fighting in just the opening period and two misconducts in the third period.

The playoff push will continue as the Whale end their season with bouts against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers twice and the Norfolk Admirals.

Springfield Falcons (CBJ)
It almost seems like the Springfield Falcons are finding the win column a bit too late but at least they are going out with a bang winning both games this past weekend. A third period comeback was responsible for the Falcons’ 3-2 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday night. The squad was down by 2 goals heading into the third period but began their comeback quickly. Nikita Filatov scored on the powerplay just 10 seconds into the period and Ben Guite did just the less than five minutes later. The game winning goal belong to Cam Atkinson who was playing in his first professional game. He picked up his first professional point as well as goal making his debut a multi point game.

Saturday night was an offensive explosion as the Falcons flew away with a 6-2 win over the Connecticut Whale. David Savard scored the lone goal in the first period and the second was scoreless. Savard scored again just 38 seconds into the final period and Denny Kearney for his first professional goal on the power play 2 mintues later. Connecticut got on the board less than a minute later but Steven Goertzen extended Springfield’s lead at 12:23. After another Connecticut goal, Atkinson scored on the power play making the team 2-for-2 on the power play on the night. Aaron Bogosian capped the scoring with exactly one minute left in the game. Allen York made 28 saves for the win, his second of his pro career in just two games.

The Falcons have four games left on their schedule. In the upcoming week they will face the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Albany Devils, Providence Bruins and Portland Pirates.

Worcester Sharks (SJS)
The Worcester Sharks ended their week where they began, two points out of a playoff spot behind the Connecticut Whale. Friday the Sharks shut out the Manchester Monarchs 2-0. John McCarthy scored both goals in the first and second period to bring the offense for the win. Carter Hutton made 27 saves for the shut out. Saturday night the Providence Bruins defeated the Worcester Sharks 4-1. T.J. Trevelyan scored the only goal for the Sharks on the power play in the last minute of the first period. Only one penalty was called on the Sharks in that game that they killed off. The team went 1-for-4 on the power play. Hutton made 24 saves in the loss.

Sunday afternoon was an important game for the Sharks when they edged the Bruins 2-1. Trevelyan scored on the power play for a second straight game in the second period to take the lead. Jamie McGinn got the game winner unassisted at 7:56 of the third as the Sharks outshot the Bruins 42 to 34. Harri Sateri made 33 saves, that included a handful of breakaway shots, for his first AHL win.

The Worcester Sharks have three games left to find get into playoff position. They will play the Portland Pirates and the Charlotte Checkers twice this weekend to end the season.